Soft ring

ABSTRACT

A soft ring addresses issues, such as casing deformation, waterproof capacity, and dust control. The soft ring is configured for use with a casing of an electronic device, and the casing has a first housing and a second housing coupled together. A ring-shaped receiving groove is disposed on the first housing for receiving the soft ring and a ring-shaped flange is disposed on the second housing for pressing the soft ring along the coupling portion of the first housing and the second housing. The soft ring is characterized in that a channel is disposed along the soft ring. The soft ring advantageously features a high compressed capacity and a low reaction force to thereby prevent the casing from deformation and improve the waterproof capacity and dust control of the casing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 099132793 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Sep. 28, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY

The present invention relates to soft rings, and more particularly, to a soft ring advantageously characterized by a high compressed capacity and a low reaction force such that the casing is protected against deformation and advantageously characterized by enhanced waterproof capacity and dust control.

BACKGROUND

The ongoing information explosion brings about tremendous development of electronic devices required for circulation of information, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA) connectable to the Internet, and audiovisual players. FIGS. 1 through 3 are an exploded view of a conventional ring-shaped plastic ring disposed on a casing, a cross-sectional view of the conventional ring-shaped plastic ring, and a cross-sectional view of the conventional ring-shaped plastic ring disposed on the casing, respectively. As shown in the drawings, to facilitate assembly of an electronic device, enhance its protection (waterproof capacity and dust control), and ensure ease of disassembly to facilitate maintenance, it is typical for a conventional electronic device to comprise a casing 1 and a solid ring-shaped plastic ring 2. The casing 1 usually has a first housing 11 and a second housing 12 coupled together. The ring-shaped plastic ring 2 is received in a ring-shaped receiving groove 111 provided on the first housing 11 along the coupling portion of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12. A ring-shaped flange 121 is disposed on the second housing 12 to press the ring-shaped plastic ring 2. In addition, to reduce the costs and weight of the electronic device, it is typical for the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 to be made of plastics. The advantage of the casing 1 being composed of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 lies in the ease of putting a circuit board or electronic components in the casing 1 during an assembly process of an electronic device. The conventional ring-shaped plastic ring 2 is positioned at the coupling portion of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12. When pressed by the ring-shaped flange 121, the ring-shaped plastic ring 2 deforms and closes the gap at the coupling portion of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12. In so doing, moisture and dust are prevented from intruding into the casing 1 through the coupling portion of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 to damage the circuit board or electronic components in the casing 1. To cut the costs of assembly of the electronic device and give considerations to the design of the other ports (such as a headphone jack port, USB port, or recharging port) on the lateral side of the casing 1, it is typical for the four corners of the casing 1 to be fixed in position with a screw 3 after the first housing 11, the second housing 12, and the ring-shaped plastic ring 2 are put together, so as to finalize the assembly process of electronic device.

However, due to its solid structure, the conventional ring-shaped plastic ring 2 is not resilient, but rigid and unlike to deform. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the deformed conventional ring-shaped plastic ring 2 disposed on the casing. As shown in the drawing, once the conventional ring-shaped plastic ring 2 and the plastic first and second housings 11, 12 are put together, the press given by the ring-shaped flange 121 in the vicinity of the four corners of the casing 1 is relatively great, because the four corners of the casing 1 are fixed in position with the screws 3; hence, the solid ring-shaped plastic ring 2 can still deform and close the gap at the point of coupling in the vicinity of the four corners of the casing 1. Nonetheless, due to the relatively weak press given by the ring-shaped flange 121 at portions of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 between the screws 3, the solid ring-shaped plastic ring 2 is unlikely to be pressed and deformed, but the portions of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12 between the screws 3 deform because of the reaction to the press. Since the solid ring-shaped plastic ring 2 is not pressed and deformed by the ring-shaped flange 121, the solid ring-shaped plastic ring 2 is unlikely to close the gap at the coupling portion of the first housing 11 and the second housing 12. As a result, water or dust can intrude into the casing 1 to damage the circuit board or electronic components therein.

Accordingly, it is imperative to invent a soft ring advantageously characterized by a high compressed capacity and a low reaction force such that the casing is protected against deformation and advantageously characterized by enhanced waterproof capacity and dust control.

SUMMARY

In view of the drawbacks of the prior art, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a soft ring advantageously characterized by a high compressed capacity and a low reaction force such that the casing is protected against deformation and advantageously characterized by enhanced waterproof capacity and dust control.

In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a soft ring configured for use with a casing of an electronic device, the casing having a first housing and a second housing coupled together. A ring-shaped receiving groove is disposed on the first housing for receiving the soft ring and a ring-shaped flange is disposed on the second housing for pressing the soft ring along the coupling portion of the first housing and the second housing, and the soft ring is characterized in that: a channel is disposed along the soft ring.

Accordingly, the soft ring of the present invention advantageously features a high compressed capacity and a low reaction force such that the casing is protected against deformation and advantageously characterized by enhanced waterproof capacity and dust control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of further features and advantages of the present invention is given below so that a person skilled in the art can understand and implement the technical contents of the present invention and readily comprehend the objectives, features, and advantages thereof by reviewing the disclosure of the present specification and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a conventional ring-shaped plastic ring disposed on a casing;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional ring-shaped plastic ring;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional ring-shaped plastic ring disposed on the casing;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the deformed conventional ring-shaped plastic ring disposed on the casing;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a soft ring in a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the soft ring coupled to a casing in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is another cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is yet another cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a further cross-sectional view of the soft ring in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring in a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is another cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is yet another cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a further cross-sectional view of the soft ring in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring couple to the casing in another aspect of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing in yet another aspect of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring in a further preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 5 through 8 are a cross-sectional view of a soft ring, an exploded view of the soft ring coupled to a casing, a cross-sectional view of the soft ring coupled to the casing, and a perspective view of the soft ring coupled to the casing, in a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively. As shown in the drawings, the soft ring 5 is configured for use with a casing 4 of an electronic device and is made of rubber or any other resilient material. In this embodiment, the cross-section of the soft ring 5 is round or any other geometric shape. The casing 4 has a first housing 41 and a second housing 42 coupled together. To cut the costs of assembly of the electronic device and give considerations to the design of the other ports (such as a headphone jack port, USB port, or recharging port) on the lateral side of the casing 4, it is typical for the four corners of the casing 4 to be fixed in position with four screws 6, respectively, so as for the first housing 41 and the second housing 42 to be coupled together. The first housing 41 and the second housing 42 are usually made of plastics in order to cut costs and reduce weight. A ring-shaped receiving groove 411 is disposed on the first housing 41 to receive the soft ring 5 along the coupling portion of the first housing 41 and the second housing 42. A ring-shaped flange 421 is disposed on the second housing 42 to press the soft ring 5 for causing deformation thereof, so as to close the gap at the coupling portion of the first housing 41 and the second housing 42. In so doing, water or dust is prevented from intruding into the casing 4 through the gap at the coupling portion of the first housing 41 and the second housing 42, otherwise water or dust can intrude into the casing 4 to damage the electronic components therein. According to the present invention, the soft ring 5 is characterized in that a channel 51 is disposed along the soft ring 5. The cross-section of the channel 51 is square or rectangular. The channel 51 is open downward and away from the ring-shaped flange 421 of the second housing 42. The channel 51 decreases the rigidity of the soft ring 5 but increases the resilience thereof. Given a press exerted on the soft ring 5 by the ring-shaped flange 421 of the second housing 42 to the same degree, the soft ring 5 is likely to be pressed and deformed, and thus the shape of the first housing 41 and the second housing 42 remains unchanged. As a result, the gap at the coupling portion of the first housing 41 and the second housing 42 is sealed off, so as to prevent moisture or dust from intruding into the casing 4 to damage electronic components therein.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively. As shown in the drawings, alternatively, the channel 51 of the soft ring 5 is open inward or outward as needed.

FIG. 11 is a further cross-sectional view of the soft ring in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Depicted in the drawing are the C-shaped cross-section of a channel 51′ of a soft ring 5′, the U-shaped cross-section of a channel 51″ of a soft ring 5″, and the V-shaped cross-section of a channel 51′″ of a soft ring 5′″. The disclosure of FIG. 11 should not limit the present invention, as the cross-section of the channel of the soft ring of the present invention can assume whatever geometric shapes as needed.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are cross-sectional views of the soft ring, and the soft ring coupled to the casing, in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively. Depicted in the drawings are the rectangular cross-section of a soft ring 7 and the square cross-section of the soft ring 7. As shown in the drawings, a channel 71 of the soft ring 7 is open downward. The shape of the cross-section of the soft ring 7 should not limit the present invention, as the cross-section of the soft ring of the present invention can assume whatever geometric shapes as needed.

FIGS. 14 and 15 are cross-sectional views of the soft ring coupled to the casing in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, respectively. As shown in the drawings, the channel 71 of the soft ring 7 is open outward or inward as needed.

FIG. 16 is a further cross-sectional view of the soft ring in the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Depicted in the drawing are the C-shaped cross-section of a channel 71′ of a soft ring 7′, the U-shaped cross-section of a channel 71′ of a soft ring 7″, and the V-shaped cross-section of a channel 71′″ of a soft ring 7′″. The disclosure of FIG. 16 should not limit the present invention, as the cross-section of the channel of the soft ring of the present invention can assume whatever geometric shapes as needed.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are cross-sectional views of the soft ring coupled to the casing in different aspects of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawings, in the situation where the opening of the channel 51 of the soft ring 5 faces the ring-shaped flange 421 of the second housing 42, the width of the opening of the cross-section of the channel 51 has to be less than the width of the end portion of the cross-section of the ring-shaped flange 421, so as for the ring-shaped flange 421 to press against the soft ring 5 and thereby not to protrude into the channel 51. As a result, the soft ring 5 deforms to thereby seal off the gap at the coupling portion of the first housing 41 and the second housing 42.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the soft ring in a further preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the soft rings 5, 7 each have a plurality of channels as needed.

The foregoing embodiments are provided to illustrate and disclose the technical features of the present invention so as to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the disclosure of the present invention and implement the present invention accordingly, and are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the present invention. Hence, all equivalent modifications and variations made to the foregoing embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles in the disclosure of the present invention should fall within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. 

1. A soft ring configured for use with a casing of an electronic device, the casing having a first housing and a second housing coupled together, a ring-shaped receiving groove being disposed on the first housing for receiving the soft ring and a ring-shaped flange being disposed on the second housing for pressing the soft ring along the coupling portion of the first housing and the second housing, and the soft ring being characterized in that a channel is disposed along the soft ring.
 2. The soft ring of claim 1, wherein a cross-section of the channel is one of square, rectangular, C-shaped, U-shaped, and V-shaped.
 3. The soft ring of claim 1, wherein a cross-section of the soft rings one of round, square, and rectangular.
 4. The soft ring of claim 1, wherein the channel is disposed on a bottom side of the soft ring.
 5. The soft ring of claim 1, wherein the channel is disposed on a lateral side of the soft ring.
 6. The soft ring of claim 1, wherein a width of an opening of a cross-section of the channel is less than a width of an end portion of a cross-section of the ring-shaped flange under the condition that the opening of the channel faces the ring-shaped flange. 